Metallizing gun

ABSTRACT

Metallizing gun employing an electric arc and having two wire guides and a compressed air nozzle fixed to a head. The head is detachably fixed to a support by a single screw. The wire guides are adapted to align with a wire-feeding device which feeds two wires through the wire guides. The wire guides are adapted to be connected to an electric power supply when the head is fixed to the support. The wire guides and nozzle can be easily replaced by substituting a replacement head having wire guides and a nozzle for the old head.

Feb. 1, 1972 United States Patent Malivoir Winzeler et [S4] METALLIZING GUN Inventor:

Roger Malivoir, Pont-a-Mousson, France 6 7 w 2 W N mw m m mm .L M P. m Rm 0m m Na Er F m Nw G9 mm R 0 F0 7 3 0 n m s u 0 a .n. m P a H mm NF n mm m m mm C? e n .m w A N U Aug. 24, 1970 211 Appl. No.: 66,508

[22] Filed:

Primary Examiner-J. V. Truhe Assistant Examiner-.1. G. Smith Altorney.l. Delattre-Seguy [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Sept. 30, 1969 France..........

[57] ABSTRACT Metallizing gun employing an electric arc and having two wire m 4 2 7 m 6 7 mn ..1 mml m U ,m L .1 o W d std U-mF HUM 555 [.11

easily replaced by substituting a replacement head having wire guides and a nozzle for the old head.

Hardwick Richter .248/224 ....219/76 6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures 1 4 ll. v, 4 .l 71 C H /l 1 I I C l 1/ M a 1 ql. 11'. Y 8 l U/ J 7 ..ll .ll .1 U/ H u l/ l 1! 1 1 z 1/ 1 r m PATENIED FEB 1 I97? 4 SHEET 2 0F 3 A iw :R xmw w n NLJW, E M WM r d HA METALLIZING GUN The present invention relates to a metallizing gun employing an electric are produced between two metal wires which are fed forward, the metal thus melted being projected by a stream of compressed air onto the surface to be coated.

It is known to employ a feed device which feeds wires of the metal to be sprayed through two wire guides which are electrically conductive and so arranged that the end portions of the wires make an acute angle so that an arc is created between these end portions, a compressed air blowing nozzle being disposed between these wire guides and spraying the metal melted by the electric arc.

- Continuous operation of such guns results in a rather considerable wear of the wire guides owing to the rubbing of the wires therein, and in seizure of the wires in the wire guides due to soiling and defects local crushing and burrs for example) in the wires. In guns of known type the wire guides and the nozzles are separately fixed to the body of the gun so that the aforementioned drawbacks are overcome by displacing the clogged or dirty wire guides. For this purpose the latter are secured to the body of the gun by a screw-threaded engagement.

Now, the unscrewing of the two wire guides requires a rather long period of inactivity of the gun. Moreover, there is a danger that the ends of the two new wire guides be incorrectly positioned with respect to the blowing nozzle when screwed in position. Another drawback resides in the fact that the blowing nozzle also becomes dirty or clogged on continuous operation of the gun. It is difficult to clean it on the gun itself and in any case the cleaning requires a rather long period of inactivity of the gun.

The heat of the are also deteriorates the air-blowing nozzle which must be replaced.

The object of the invention is to remedy these drawbacks by reducing as far possible the periods of immobilization of the gun for cleaning and repairs. The invention provides an improved metallizing gun employing an electric arc of the aforementioned type and comprising a feed device for feeding the metal wires to be sprayed through electrically conductive wire guides, and a blowing nozzle for spraying the molten metal. In this gun, the two wire guides and the blowing nozzle are carried by a detachable interchangeable head with which they are combined and which is fixed to the body of the gun by a single screw.

With this arrangement, it is possible to rapidly change the head of the gun with its two wire guides and blowing nozzle merely by unscrewing the single screw. In this way, operation of the gun is stopped for only a very short time for cleaning or replacing the head, since it is merely necessary to almost immediately substitute a replacement head. This arrangement also has the advantage that the positioning of the wire guides with respect to the nozzle is precise, since these wire guides and the nozzle are in a correct fixed relation to each other on the replacement head.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the ensuing description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view partly in section of a gun according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the gun on an enlarged scale, taken along line 22 of FIG. I, and through one of the wire guides;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1 and through the two electric power supply rods;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4 of the detachable head alone, and

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic bottom view of the head.

In the illustrated embodiment, the metallizing gun comprises on a base A two parts: a fixed part or body B and an interchangeable part or head C.

The fixed part or body B is fixed to the base A and comwires are fed by the rollers 3 through two apertures or outlets 4 Placed in front of the motor speed reducer unit on the base A is a block 6 of insulating material fixed to the support by screws, bolts or other means.

Extending vertically through the block 6 and the support A are, first, a pipe 7 (FIG. 4) supplying compressed air and opening out in the upper part of the block 6 by way of a plane end provided with a groove containing a sealing ring 8 and, secondly, two rods 9 (FIGS. 2 and 3) supplying electric power. Each of the rods 9 has its lower part connected to a current supply bar 10 and an upper part, which protudes from the block 6 provided with a contact member or cylindrical plug 11 having an axis Y-Y and upwardly convergent tlat faces parallel to the longitudinal median plane XX.

The block 6 is also provided with a vertical aperture 12 (FIG. 4) which is screw-threaded and receives a single screw 13 for clamping the detachable head C of the gun in position.

The head C comprises a body or block 14 of insulating material which is symmetrical with respect to the plane XX. Extending in a horizontal plane through the body 14 are two wire guides 15 which are symmetrical with respect to the plane XX (FIG. 1) and bent in such manner that the outlet end portions 16 thereof remote from the motor speed reducer unit (1,2) are brought closer together so that their axes make an acute angle a (FIG. 1). The inlet end portions 17 of the guides 15 are also symmetrical with respect to the plane XX and constitute plugs spaced apart in such manner that they are able to fit into the apertures 4. Each wire guide is integral with a metal cylindrical support or contact member 18 which has a vertical axis Y-Y and a V-shaped notch 18a (FIG. 3) matching the projection 11a of the plug 11 of the corresponding rod 9.

A blowing nozzle 19 is mounted the front part of the body 14 in the same horizontal plane as the wire guides 15 and located therebetween. A vertical socket 20 puts the horizontal nozzle 19 in communication with the exterior, this socket being placed in such position that when the head C is mounted on the block 6 of the body B, the lower end face of this socket bears against the ring 8 in the annular groove in the pipe 7. To the rear of the socket 20 in the vertical plane XX, the body 14 is provided with an aperture in the shape of a keyhole which comprises a part 21 whose width is substantially greater than the diameter of the screw-threaded aperture 12 of the block 6 of the body B and a rear part 22 whose diameter exceeds that of the head 23 of the screw 13 screwed in the aperture 12. The head C of the gun is protected or shielded throughout its periphery by asbestos sheets 24.

The head C is mounted on the block 6 of the body B in the following manner:

By moving the block 14 along the axis XX, the plugs 17 are fitted in the corresponding apertures 4 of the motor speed reducer unit. The notches 18a of the supports 18 of the wire guides 15 are then placed on the plugs ll of the power supply rods 9. The lower face of the socket 20 bears on the sealing ring 8 in the groove in the end face of the pipe 7. The narrow part 21 of the keyhole-shaped aperture is in front of the aperture 12. It is sufficient to screw the screw 14 in the screwthreaded aperture 12 to render the head C integral with the body 6.

The electric current passes through .the rods 9, the plugs 11, the supports 18 and the wire guides 15. The wires are fed along the axes Z--Z through the wire guides. The compressed air passes through the pipe 7 and the socket 20 and the nozzle 19.

The gun operates in the same way as an electric arc gun of known type.

When it is necessary to detach the head C of the gun for cleaning or when a wire becomes stuck in a wire guide, the electric current and the compressed air supply are cut off and the screw 13 is unscrewed so as to permit first moving the head to extract the plugs 17 from the apertures 4 of the motor speed reducer unit and thus disconnect the 'wires between the plugs and the apertures. The head C of the gun is still further shifted in such manner that the head 23 of the screw 13 comes in front of the wide part 22 of the keyhole-shaped aperture. The plugs 17 are thus disengaged from the apertures 4 of the motor, speed-reducer unit. The head C of the gun can be separated from the body C since the part 22 of the keyholeshaped aperture has a diameter exceeding that of the head 23 of the screw 13 (FIGS. 5 and 6),

The opposite procedure is adopted for mounting a new head C on the body B.

The main advantage of the invention resides in the fact that it is possible to rapidly assemble and disassemble the head of the gun for maintenance and repairs.

Indeed, it is merely necessary to unscrew a single screw 13 and shift the head C by sliding the hole 21, 22 relative to the screw 13.

A feature of the invention resides in the fact that the electric contacts between the head C of the gun and the electric power supply rods 9 are excellent notwithstanding the high intensity passing therethrough (about 700 amps).

They do not heat up since the contacts occur between the plugs 11 of the cylindrical rods 9 having an axis Y--Y and upwardly convergent flat faces parallel to the plane XX and the corresponding notches or sockets 18a of the supports 18. As the pressure of contact is exerted by the tightening of the screw 13, the contacts are clamped together by a wedgingeffect.

Having now described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A metallizing gun employing an electric are which is produced between and melts ends of two metal wires, said gun comprising means defining a support, two electric power supply conductors combined with said support, a pair of first contact members which are fixed in said support and insulated from each other and electrically connected to said conductors, a feed device having two outlets and fixed with respect to said support, for feeding said two wires through said outlets, means defining a head detachably mountable on said support in a given position, means defining two electrically conductive wire guides having outlet ends and inlet ends and mounted on said head in fixed relation to said head, a blowing nozzle mounted on said head in fixed relation to said head and adapted for connection to a compressed air supply for spray ing molten metal from said wires, a pair of second contact members fixed to said head and insulated from each other and electrically connected to said wire guides, said pairs of first and second contact members and said outlets of said feeding device and said wire guide inlet ends being relatively located in such positions that when said head is mounted in said given position on said support said wire guide inlet ends are aligned with said outlets of the feed device for passage therethrough of said wires and said pair of first contact members are aligned with and in clampable electrical contact with said pair of second contact members, and releasable clamping means for releasably clamping said head in said given position on said support, whereby said wire guides and blowing nozzle can be simultaneously combined with or released from said feed device.

2. A gun as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of said pairs of contact members is a pair of plugs and the other pair of contact members is a pair of sockets electrically engageable in said plugs, said clamping means acting on said head in a direction for maintaining said sockets on said plugs.

3. A metallizing gun employing an electric are which is produced between and melts ends of two metal wires, said gun comprising means defining a support, two electric power supply conductors combined with said support, a pair of first contact members which are fixed in said support and insulated from each other and electrically connected to said conductors, a feed device having two outlets and fixed with respect to said support, for feeding said two wires through said outlets, means defining a head detachably mountable on said support in a given position, means defining two electrically conductive wire guides having outlet ends and inlet ends and mounted on said head in fixed relation to said head, a blowing nozzle mounted on said head in fixed relation to said head and adapted for connection to a compressed air supply for spraying molten metal from said wires, a pairof second'contact members fixed to said head and insulated from each other and electrically connected to said wire guides, said pairs of first and second contact members and said outlets of said feeding device and said wire guide inlet ends being relatively located in such positions that when said head is mounted in said given position on said support said wire guide inlet ends are aligned with said outlets of the feed device for passage therethrough of said wires and said pair of first contact members are aligned with and in clampable electrical contact with said pair of second contact members, and releasable clamping means for releasably clamping said head in said given position on said support, whereby said wire guides and blowing nozzle can be simultaneously combined with or released from said feed device, one of said pairs of contact members being a pair of plugs, each plug having a portion having convergent flat faces, and the other of said pairs of contact members being a pair of sockets, each socket having a portion having a shape complementary to the shape of said portions of said plugs, said sockets being adapted to be engaged on said plugs when said head is mounted on said support in said given position.

4. A gun as claimed in claim 3, wherein said clamping means comprise a single screw having an enlarged head and adjustably screw-threadedly engaged, in said support, and means defining an aperture extending through said head and having the shape of a keyhole having a narrow part having a width slightly smaller than the head of said screw and greater than the diameter of said screw, and a wide part having a width exceeding the diameter of a head of said screw, said screw head acting on said head in a direction to clamp said portions of said first and second contact members together.

5. A gun as claimed in claim 3, wherein said flat faces are parallel to a plane so that said plugs and sockets are relatively slidable in directions parallel to said plane and allow said head to be slide to said given position, said clamping means acting in a direction perpendicular to said directions of sliding- 6. A metallizing gun employing an electric are which is produced between and melts ends of two metal wires, said gun comprising means defining a support, two electric power supply conductors combined with said support, a pair of first contact members which are fixed in said support and insulated from each other and electrically connected to said conductors, a feed device having two outlets and fixed with respect to said support, for feeding said two wires through said outlets, means defining a head detachably mountable on said support in a given position, means defining two electrically conductive wire guides having outlet ends and inlet ends and mounted on said head in fixed relation to said head, a blowing nozzle mounted on said head in fixed relation to said head and adapted for connection to a compressed air supply for spraying molten metal from said wires, a pair of second contact members fixed to said head and insulated from each other and electrically connected to said wire guides, said pairs of first and second contact members and said outlets of said feeding device and said wire guide inlet ends being relatively located in such positions that when said head is mounted in said given position on said support said wire guide inlet ends are aligned with said outlets of the feed device for passage therethrough of said wires and said pair of first contact members are aligned with and in clampable electrical contact with said pair of second contact members, and releasable clamping means for releasably clamping said head in said given position on said support, whereby said wire guides and blowing nozzle can be simultaneously combined with or released from said feed device, said clamping means comprising a screw having an enlarged screw head and screw-threadedly adjustably engaged in 3,63 9 ,720 s 6 said support, means defining a keyhole shaped aperture exin a given direction parallel to said plane to said given position Wilding through Said head and having a Wide P allowing so that said screw is engaged in said narrow part of said apersaid sctrlevzlhead to pass dtherethjough agd an elongated narrtow ture, said wire guide inlet ends and said outlets being adapted part w ie 18 contame In a p ane an a ows sar screw ut not said screw head to pass therethrough, whereby said head fglsgz g g g telescoplcauy lmerengage m d'recuons para can be initially mounted on said support by passing said screw p through said wide part of said aperture and thereafter shifted 

1. A metallizing gun employing an electric arc which is produced between and melts ends of two metal wires, said gun comprising means defining a support, two electric power supply conductors combined with said support, a pair of first contact members which are fixed in said support and insulated from each other and electrically connected to said conductors, a feed device having two outlets and fixed with respect to said support, for feeding said two wires through said outlets, means defining a head detachably mountable on said support in a given position, means defining two electrically conductive wire guides having outlet ends and inlet ends and mounted on said head in fixed relation to said head, a blowing nozzle mounted on said head in fixed relation to said head and adapted for connection to a compressed air supply for spraying molten metal from said wires, a pair of second contact members fixed to said head and insulated from each other and electrically connected to said wire guides, said pairs of first and second contact members and said outlets of said feeding Device and said wire guide inlet ends being relatively located in such positions that when said head is mounted in said given position on said support said wire guide inlet ends are aligned with said outlets of the feed device for passage therethrough of said wires and said pair of first contact members are aligned with and in clampable electrical contact with said pair of second contact members, and releasable clamping means for releasably clamping said head in said given position on said support, whereby said wire guides and blowing nozzle can be simultaneously combined with or released from said feed device.
 2. A gun as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of said pairs of contact members is a pair of plugs and the other pair of contact members is a pair of sockets electrically engageable in said plugs, said clamping means acting on said head in a direction for maintaining said sockets on said plugs.
 3. A metallizing gun employing an electric arc which is produced between and melts ends of two metal wires, said gun comprising means defining a support, two electric power supply conductors combined with said support, a pair of first contact members which are fixed in said support and insulated from each other and electrically connected to said conductors, a feed device having two outlets and fixed with respect to said support, for feeding said two wires through said outlets, means defining a head detachably mountable on said support in a given position, means defining two electrically conductive wire guides having outlet ends and inlet ends and mounted on said head in fixed relation to said head, a blowing nozzle mounted on said head in fixed relation to said head and adapted for connection to a compressed air supply for spraying molten metal from said wires, a pair of second contact members fixed to said head and insulated from each other and electrically connected to said wire guides, said pairs of first and second contact members and said outlets of said feeding device and said wire guide inlet ends being relatively located in such positions that when said head is mounted in said given position on said support said wire guide inlet ends are aligned with said outlets of the feed device for passage therethrough of said wires and said pair of first contact members are aligned with and in clampable electrical contact with said pair of second contact members, and releasable clamping means for releasably clamping said head in said given position on said support, whereby said wire guides and blowing nozzle can be simultaneously combined with or released from said feed device, one of said pairs of contact members being a pair of plugs, each plug having a portion having convergent flat faces, and the other of said pairs of contact members being a pair of sockets, each socket having a portion having a shape complementary to the shape of said portions of said plugs, said sockets being adapted to be engaged on said plugs when said head is mounted on said support in said given position.
 4. A gun as claimed in claim 3, wherein said clamping means comprise a single screw having an enlarged head and adjustably screw-threadedly engaged in said support, and means defining an aperture extending through said head and having the shape of a keyhole having a narrow part having a width slightly smaller than the head of said screw and greater than the diameter of said screw, and a wide part having a width exceeding the diameter of a head of said screw, said screw head acting on said head in a direction to clamp said portions of said first and second contact members together.
 5. A gun as claimed in claim 3, wherein said flat faces are parallel to a plane so that said plugs and sockets are relatively slidable in directions parallel to said plane and allow said head to be slide to said given position, said clamping means acting in a direction perpendicular to said directions of sliding.
 6. A metallizing gun employing an electric arc which is produced between and melts ends of two metal wIres, said gun comprising means defining a support, two electric power supply conductors combined with said support, a pair of first contact members which are fixed in said support and insulated from each other and electrically connected to said conductors, a feed device having two outlets and fixed with respect to said support, for feeding said two wires through said outlets, means defining a head detachably mountable on said support in a given position, means defining two electrically conductive wire guides having outlet ends and inlet ends and mounted on said head in fixed relation to said head, a blowing nozzle mounted on said head in fixed relation to said head and adapted for connection to a compressed air supply for spraying molten metal from said wires, a pair of second contact members fixed to said head and insulated from each other and electrically connected to said wire guides, said pairs of first and second contact members and said outlets of said feeding device and said wire guide inlet ends being relatively located in such positions that when said head is mounted in said given position on said support said wire guide inlet ends are aligned with said outlets of the feed device for passage therethrough of said wires and said pair of first contact members are aligned with and in clampable electrical contact with said pair of second contact members, and releasable clamping means for releasably clamping said head in said given position on said support, whereby said wire guides and blowing nozzle can be simultaneously combined with or released from said feed device, said clamping means comprising a screw having an enlarged screw head and screw-threadedly adjustably engaged in said support, means defining a keyhole shaped aperture extending through said head and having a wide part for allowing said screwhead to pass therethrough and an elongated narrow part which is contained in a plane and allows said screw but not said screw head to pass therethrough, whereby said head can be initially mounted on said support by passing said screw through said wide part of said aperture and thereafter shifted in a given direction parallel to said plane to said given position so that said screw is engaged in said narrow part of said aperture, said wire guide inlet ends and said outlets being adapted and arranged to telescopically interengage in directions parallel to said plane. 